Gem Diamonds mines more carats May 12, 2014 Aim-listed miner Gem Diamonds yesterday said it recovered 39 per cent more carats in the first quarter of the year, while the average value per carat rose 70 per cent. “Strong diamond prices continue to be seen at the Letseng tenders…coupled with the continuing contribution of ore sourced from the Satellite pipe at Letseng, has [...]
Stratex ties up with Thani Emirates May 12, 2014 Stratex International, the Aim-quoted gold and base metals miner, yesterday said it plans to form a new company for its East African assets with UAE-based Thani Emirates Resources Holdings. “The new company will initially focus on drilling the Pandora epithermal system in Djibouti as well as advancing key projects in Egypt that show potential for [...]
Bond funds surge in popularity as investors continue equity cut May 12, 2014 EUROPEAN investors ploughed over €20bn (£16.3bn) more into bond funds in March, as fresh evidence reveals a rapid pullback of equities by institutional investors. Around €36bn flowed into funds across Europe in March, according to figures from Lipper, with the majority of this cash rushing into bond funds. In total, €21.5bn of the €35.8bn was [...]
Leni rises on Trinidad oil strike May 12, 2014 Aim-listed energy explorer Leni Gas and Oil saw its share price jump over three per cent yesterday, after it said the first new well in the Goudron field in Trinidad had encountered over 350 feet of oil-bearing sandstones. The company, which lost a court case against Mediterranean Oil and Gas in March, over its sale [...]
Faroe Petroleum slides on dry well May 12, 2014 Shares in Faroe Petroleum fell over seven per cent yesterday, after the North Sea oil and gas explorer said it had plugged and abandoned the Centrica-operated Butch East exploration well, after failing to encounter oil. “While the results for the Butch East well are disappointing, Butch South West is structurally independent and a highly prospective [...]
London Mining on track for year May 12, 2014 Aim-listed London Mining yesterday reiterated its full-year production guidance, as it unveiled a rise in first-quarter output. The iron ore producer has decided to defer its $175m (£103.6m) “Life of Mine” extension capital programme by two years, to “improve financial flexibility” in the current weak iron ore pricing environment. It also said it is looking [...]
Best of the Brokers for 13 May 2014 May 12, 2014 To appear in Best of the Brokers, email your research to notes@cityam.com WS ATKINS Numis thinks “the financials stack up” for Atkins to take over Balfour Beatty’s professional services business for around £600m, and that a deal could boost earnings per share by up to 15 per cent. The broker has raised its rating from [...]
London Report: Mining shares lift FTSE close to a 14-year high May 12, 2014 A RISE in heavyweight mining stocks lifted Britain’s top equity index yesterday close to its highest level since early 2000. The blue-chip FTSE 100 index closed 0.6 per cent or 37.18 points higher at 6,851.75 points – within touching distance of a peak of 6,867.42 reached in January, which was close to its highest levels [...]
New York Report: Dow and S&P hit new peaks and Nasdaq up May 12, 2014 THE DOW and S&P 500 ended at record highs last night while the Nasdaq rallied as shares of internet and biotech shares advanced. Biogen Idec jumped 4.8 per cent to $300.54 and TripAdvisor rose 5.8 per cent to $89.51. Twitter gained 5.9 per cent to $33.94 after news reports that brokerage SunTrust raised its rating [...]
UK’s recovery at risk of severe brickie shortage May 12, 2014 Today brings news of one of the more esoteric downsides of the UK's surging recovery – a perilous shortage of bricklayers in the UK. A new study out today by the Construction Products Association shows the growing skills supply shortage driven by the UK’s increase in new house building, which is bouncing back from an [...]